Side-Note: Making the Most of a Writing Opportunity

If I asked you a question and you knew the answer would you answer it? What if it meant thousands of people would see your response and have a link to your website? That’s the great thing about FWJ. It gives great opportunities to newbie and seasoned writers.

A few days ago I wrote a post about writing on hot topics, a few do’s and don’ts. At the end I posed a question to the FWJ community: I wanted to hear some of your ideas on how to or how not to write about a hot topic. I asked for web or blog URL as well so your comments and thoughts could be linked back to your work.

I expected a big pile of emails and from FWJ. I got nuttin’. Crickets. Dust. I’ve seen this on other blogs before, an opportunity to write for a large audience walks right on past the hesitant, shy or uninterested.

A few years ago Deb Ng had a blogger contest. I responded to the call & won the gig. I went from responding to an opportunity to being a blogger on the number one freelance writing website. It’s an awesome gig. One of the things that makes it awesome is the community, the second thing is having the opportunity to give other writers tips and breaks.

Which brings me back to my post. Building a blogging community is like building any other relationship. There’s give and take and most importantly communication. We don’t want you to simply read, we want you to participate. I want to help you succeed! This not only a great writing opportunity for me, it’s a great opportunity for the smart people that respond to this post: what’s your tip for writing an article on a touchy subject?

The best answers willl be featured here next week. Send your tip to me at: [email protected] by Sunday at noon and you just might see your name on the front page of Freelance Writing Jobs!

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Comments

Thanks Terreece. It seems so simple, but we do get busy and forget to answer questions. What a great way to connect with readers and create some long term relationships. Great share.Aaron´s last blog post ..Panasonic VIERA TC-P42G25 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

I’ve been fortunate enough to avoid the need of writing something “sensitive” for a client, however when it comes to blog or article commenting I have had the opportunity to put my “sensitivity” gloves on…but I don’t.

Seriously, unless it will needlessly hurt someone’s feelings, I try to be honest in all things. If I don’t have anything nice that I can say, I just don’t speak. Old, sage advice, yes, but no less true than it ever was.

Sorry I didn’t have any wise advice, but hopefully someone will come along behind me that will.

Thanks for the reminder about the importance of leaving comments on blogs we love and visit. Too often, I find myself lurking–enjoying the posts, but not adding any remarks of my own.

Perhaps because I’m a medical social worker and get involved in ethical dramas every day, I seem drawn to sensitive topics; for instance, I recently wrote an article for Suite101 about whether a mental illness could ever be considered terminal. I’ve also written articles about abandoning aggressive care for palliative care and about the efficacy of electro-convulsive therapy as a treatment for depression.

When I write these articles, I take a calm, low-key approach, just as if I’m speaking to a client. I don’t use inflammatory language or insult people who believe differently than I do, I back up my theories with statistics, and I always try to respect and acknowledge opposing viewpoints. My goal in writing sensitive articles is to make people think about hard issues, not to make people feel angry or attacked.

So far, my method has worked. I’ve only gotten “flamed” a couple of times, which is pretty good considering some of the topics I’ve tackled.

How about I ask you a question and anyone else that would care to give me their advice. If you wanted to make a small but regular income from writing asap what would you focus on? I have dabbled in many genres of writing both fiction and non-fiction but it has always been crowded in at the end of a busy day. I’m at the stage where I am able to take a bit of a leap of faith and give it some priority.

I thought for newbies this could make a good post for you guys. There comes a point where you actually have to give up the certainty of other work to devote the time necessary to build a writing business.